Everton may lose Idrissa Gueye before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
Everton weren’t expecting to do much business this month, but they may be forced into the market for another midfielder before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
The Toffees did most of their necessary business last summer, meaning they weren’t planning to go wild this month, with no arrivals yet this month.
However, Paris Saint-Germain are keen to sign Idrissa Gueye, and Sky Sports report that not only has a £21.5million bid been rejected, but also that Gueye has submitted a transfer request.
Everton will hope to convince Gueye to stay, meaning they don’t have to rush into the market for a replacement, given that there are just over 48 hours of the window left to go.
One player linked as a potential replacement earlier this month was Boca Juniors ace Wilmar Barrios, with AS reporting that Everton were hoping to land the Colombian.
A pitbull of a midfielder with great energy and physicality, Barrios would have fit the bill as a successor to Gueye in the heart of the Everton midfield, providing similar battling qualities to Gueye.
However, the 25-year-old appears to be slipping out of Everton’s reach, as Sport Mediaset in Italy report that Roma are very close to securing his signature ahead of the deadline.
The deal will see Barrios head to the Italian capital on an 18-month loan deal for €5million (£4.35million), with a permanent option in 2020 for €16million (£14million).
Those numbers would have been manageable for Everton, and they will now hope that they don’t have to replace Gueye after all, with one of the top potential replacements seemingly heading off the market.
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